Earthquake Unit

EARTHQUAKE UNIT
Lyndon Brown, BSc UWI, MA CUNY, PhD UDEL
Head of Unit
INTRODUCTION
T
he Earthquake Unit (EQU) is a research unit in the Department of
Geography and Geology that is funded directly by the Government
of Jamaica (GOJ) as the sole agency responsible for the monitoring of
earthquakes and research in seismic hazards in Jamaica. The EQU
budget is supported by the Government of Jamaica with allocations
through the Ministry of Science Technology Energy and Mining
(MSTEM). The budgetary allocation to the EQU by the GOJ during
this financial year amounted to J$29,995 million. This has put the EQU
in a position to improve its network to a fully digital network.
WORK OF THE UNIT
The addition of another broadband seismometer during this period to
the Jamaica Seismograph Network now puts the unit in a position to
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operate fully as a digital network. The short period network is now being
phased into a secondary network acquisition source of the Jamaica
Seismograph Network.
As part of this improvement a digital radio link was built from MBJ
(Kempshot-Montego Bay St. James) via Ayr Hill and Cooper’s Hill to
UWI as a means to improve data transfer between Montego Bay and
UWI. This radio link was through the assistance of the Aeronautical
Telecommunications Limited Jamaica (AEROTEL). With this broadband
network the EQU is now using Seiscomp3 software for the earthquake
data analysis solutions (preliminary solutions -testing phase). Earthquake
events can be done and bulletins provided to relevant persons and the
media within a few minutes of the event then later can be rechecked for
accuracy by the Seismic Analyst as is done in bigger modern networks.
The EQU is now sharing real-time data with International Seismic
networks such as Incorporated Research Institute of Seismology (IRIS),
regional seismic networks such as the Puerto Rican Seismic Network and
the Cuban Seismic Network as broadband data is accessible real time
from the EQU network.
The seismic site effect/microzonation of Kingston has now been completed
and also the update of Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Maps for Jamaica.
These are very significant developments for engineering designs and the
update of the seismic code that is of national significance. All these data
and maps are available at the EQU and also in peer reviewed journals.
The EQU is now paying serious attention to the installation of strong
motion seismometers (accelerometers) in critical facilities across highly
populated centres across the island. The accelerometers record ground
response after major earthquake events and will provide data to better
understand site specific ground response in order to improve seismic
microzonation and the building code. Instruments located on buildings
can be used as tools for providing retrofitting assessment in the event of
a major damaging earthquake.
The EQU has acquired funding to add eight (8) accelerometers to the
Jamaica Strong Motion Network. Two (2) of these instruments were
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INSTITUTE AND RESEARCH CENTRES
acquired through a collaborative proposal with the Seismic Research
Centre (SRC) in St. Augustine to the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk
Insurance Facility (CCRIF) with an objective to strengthen and support
the strong motion network in the Caribbean in order to better evaluate
and mitigate seismic risks in the Eastern Caribbean and Jamaica. Location
for the installation of these instruments has already been determined
with one instrument for the Kingston Container Terminal and the other
in the Long Mountain. The idea behind these locations is to monitor
ground motion on a hard rock site (Long Mountain) and a soft rock site
(Kingston Container Terminal). This data will be invaluable to engineering
designs. Funding of the other six (6) instruments came through the
Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).
The location of these instruments has also been determined with two (2)
to be placed on the ODPEM building, two (2) at the Kingston Hospital
and the other two (2) instruments will be located at the Portmore
HEART Academy. It is expected that these instruments will be delivered
by the end of 2013. The installation of these instruments should bring
the network to sixteen instruments scattered across the island mostly in
Kingston. These instruments operate in a standby mode and start
recording when triggered by earthquakes typically greater than magnitude
3.5. They are very important in acquiring data that are used in seismic
hazard assessment, studying the response of sites to ground shaking and
provide parameters to be used in constructing or retrofitting important
structures.
The project towards the monitoring of the fault activity is now being
supported by the three (3) permanent GPS stations; a part of the United
States funded University Consortium (UNAVCO) Caribbean Continuously
Operating GPS Network (COCONET). In addition, data is now being
provided to this project by the National Land Agency from their thirteen
(13) permanent GPS stations, a part of their Land Administration and
Management Project (LAMP). Data from these instruments are shared
with the EQU collaborators and then incorporated with the data obtained
from the other thirty-six (36) points that are currently monitored under
the “Measuring slip rates on local and regional faults” project through
collaboration with geophysicist Chuck De Mets from the University of
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Earthquake Unit
Wisconsin. Throughout this year efforts have been made to ensure that
the GPS instruments located on Pedro and Morant Cays are functioning.
A number of maintenance trips were made to these cays with the
assistance of the JDF Coast Guard and the Port Authority of Jamaica.
The JDF and the Port Authority of Jamaica continue to pledge support
to the EQU to ensure that maintenance trips to the instruments on the
cays will be supported.
Continued sonar mapping and liquefaction assessment of the Kingston
harbour and Port Royal, respectively occurred in January with a group
from the Southern Methodist University, Dallas Texas. We also did
further sonar mapping in St. Thomas. In this project a number of gravity
cores were obtained to date the history of tsunami deposits in the
Kingston Harbour which are evident on sonar profiles. The analysis of
these cores is expected to be completed by December.
With the funding of new equipment to the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty Organization’s (CTBTO’s) National Data Centre (NDC) at the
Earthquake Unit during last year, installation of this hardware was done
during the course of this year. A training course on the “NDC in a box”
for processing of the CTBTO data at the National Data Centre (NDC)
was also done during the installation by the visiting engineer from the
CTBTO.
The Jamaica Seismograph Network continues to operate at a reasonably
efficient level; however, there are challenges in getting the stations to
work at full efficiency due to shortage of spares and also due to acts of
nature such as the most recent Tropical Storm Sandy, lightning damages
and technological issues. However, we are always working assiduously to
mitigate and repair within an acceptable time frame. The network saw
some improvement in the infrastructure at a number of the seismic
stations as follows:
Yallahs (YHJ): Antenna heightened – resulting in an improvement in
the digital link to the Central Recording Station at the EQU Unit.
Bamboo (BBJ): The addition of a 130 watts solar panel and installation
of equipment in a housing (built by EQU but fell into disrepair through
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nonuse) that was recently repaired. This allows the station to operate
independently of Aerotel which owns and operates a telecommunication
network at this location. The EQU was dependent on Aerotel for
providing electrical power and storage of the EQU equipment.
PIKE (CVJ): Seismic equipment was transferred outside of Aerotel
housing to a concrete pad that was constructed at the same location. A
two inch galvonized pole for the antennas was installed closer to the
enclosure with lightning and grounding rod installed. All the equipment
including the GPS NETRS receiver and seismometer are now installed
in this new fiberglass housing.
MONTEGO BAY, KEMPSHOT (MBJ): MBJ was upgraded to a new
six channel digital station with the installation of a broadband seismometer,
accelerometer with a digitizer and communication module.
The Earthquake Unit also saw the addition of two new members of staff,
both short term employments: Ms. Zeaundra Gayle and Mr. Travis
Edwards, both worked as GIS officers. Ms. Gayle is no longer with the
unit; however, Mr. Edwards, who started as part of an internship
programme by UTech, continues to work as a part time staff to assist
with GIS and mapping needs.
OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
A number of primary and high schools visited the EQU, totaling 497
students and 29 teachers. The Seismic Analyst and Education Officer
provided presentation to the visitors on the operation of the Seismic
station and also information on Jamaica’s seismic activity earthquake
awareness. Visitors included students from the teachers colleges, UTech
and UWI. The presentation and visits are all designed to complement
the curriculum in the primary and high schools and also provide tertiary
students with resources for research papers and thesis. Members of staff
of the EQU also visited a number of private sector organizations,
community organizations, colleges and expos to educate the public in an
effort to fulfill its mandate towards educating the society about seismic
occurrence and vulnerability.
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Earthquake Unit
Figure 1: Location of seismic stations that forms the Jamaica Seismograph Network (JSN).
Location of the analog short period seismographs, 3-component seismograph and the updated
digital broadband seismometers are shown. Stations are shown in relation to the JSN
subarea division and the lineation of the dominant faults in Jamaica.
The EQU Library now has a list of its collection in a database online so
that the wider university community can have information on the
holdings of the EQU and can visit the unit to use any of this collection.
The focus is the development of a collection that can attract students and
the wider community to utilize the resources of the EQU.
There were also several media interviews and forum to discuss matters
relating to earthquake and development.
EARTHQUAKES RECORDED
The JSN saw slightly higher numbers of earthquakes recorded this year
with an additional fifteen percentage (15%) increase in the number of
events. Similarly, an increase in the number of felts events during the
period also shows an increase of forty-five (45%) percent. However, in
real numbers thirteen (13) felt events occurred this period as against nine
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(9) from last period. No distinct trends were seen along any fault line
although in areas such as the south-western end of the island along the
Montpelier-Newmarket subarea an increase in the activity was seen.
Some of these events could also be attributed to aftershocks from the
largest event recorded (Magnitude 4.2 ) during this period that had an
epicentre in this subarea.
In total the JSN recorded and processed two hundred and sixty seven
(267) events, twenty two (22) of which were determined to be blasting
events. Of the remaining two hundred and forty five (245) earthquakes
during this period (August 2012–July 2013), only one hundred and one
(101) were local events. (See table 1).
Table 1: Events recorded by the Central Recording Station at the EQU, of the 101
local events, only 13 were felt.
Earthquake Event Summary, August 2012–July 2013
The earthquake activity along subareas follows previous trends. The
most active sub-area (as seen in Figure 2) was the Blue Mountain Block
followed by Rio Minho–Crawle River Fault and the MontpelierNewmarket Fault. There were thirteen (13) felt earthquakes during this
period with the largest local event on February 10. There were at least
two aftershocks recorded in the same area on that morning; however,
there were no reports of damages associated with this event. Figure 3
shows the location of earthquake events across the island.
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Figure 2: Seismic activities in the Jamaica local sub-areas for August 2012–July 2013.
Figure 3: Seismic activity within the local region sub-areas of Jamaica during the period of
August 2011–July 2012. Felt events are typically magnitudes greater than 3; bulletins for
these events are provided to the media.
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PRESENTATIONS
Lyndon Brown (Research Fellow/Head)
•
Brown, L. Blake, S., Murray. D.; “Seismic vulnerability of critical
facilities in Jamaica; Rapid Visual Screening of Fire Station in
Kingston & St. Andrew” Jamaica Institute of Engineers Conference,
Kingston, September 2012, 10 p.
•
December 2012: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Annual
Conference: San Francisco December 2012: “Key geophysical
indicators of seismic vulnerability in Kingston, Jamaica”. December
2012.
•
Cuba: ICTP activity in Santiago de Cuba: Status of Research on the
Gonave Microplate. Implications for Seismic Vulnerability in the
Region. December 2012.
•
“Jamaica’s vulnerability to earthquakes with particular emphasis on
the newly discovered fault in Kingston Harbour”. ODPEM symposium,
UWI. February 2013
•
Seismic Vulnerability of Kingston – latest research findings. Grace
Kennedy, July 2013.
Paul Williams (Network Manager/Engineer)
•
Poster – “Use of Alternative Energy at EQU”. UWI Research Day:
February 2012.
Karlene Black (Education Officer)
•
Earthquake Summary poster for 2012, Earthquake Awareness Week,
ODPEM and Research Day, UWI. January 2012.
•
“Towards An Earthquake And Tsunami Ready Nation”. ODPEM
Earthquake Awareness Week Symposium, January 24, 2013.
•
The Development Gap Health Fair: Brooks Park, Mandeville.
February 2, 2013
•
Manchester Local Sustainable Development Plan – 2030. The
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Healthy Lifestyle Fair was organized in collaboration with RADA.
•
National Minerals Week Expo: National Minerals Week Expo,
Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (MSTEM).
June, 28–29, 2013
•
“Seismic Risk in Jamaica” at the Seminar on Humanitarian Aid and
Civil Protection Department of the European Community Humanitarian
Office (ECHO) as part of the Disaster Preparedness European
Community Humanitarian Office DIPECHO Action Plan for the
Caribbean 2011–2012. Challenges & experiences in seismic risk
reduction in the Caribbean, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
August 8–10, 2012.
•
ODPEM workshop ‘Introduction to damage assessment and needs
analysis visual application (DANAVISUAL)’. August 22, 2012
•
HelpAge International /DIPECHO National Country Risk Management
Profile (Country Document) Consultation “Helping Vulnerable
Populations and Communities to Manage Risks associated with
Hurricanes and Floods”. August 29, 2012.
•
Haiti Meetings Re: Gem and Polytechnic University of Madrid
Collaboration Project. March 11–12, 2013.
•
Global Earthquake Model (GEM) and the Polytechnic University of
Madrid, Spain through the Haitian collaboration of the National
Environmental agency in Haiti, (ONEV).
Raymond Stewart: (Seismic Analyst)
•
Earthquake presentation at the Mary Seacole Hall. October 20,
2012.
•
Climate change Education Expo, A GOJ/EU/UNEP Climate Change
and Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction. April 20, 2013
•
Attended ODPEM’s disaster preparedness expo in Port Maria, St
Mary. June 27, 2013.
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PUBLICATIONS
Referred Journals
•
W Salazar, L Brown., and G Mannette. “Probabilistic Seismic
Hazard Assessment for Jamaica”. Journal of Civil Engineering and
Architecture, (2013) Vol. 7, No. 9 (Serial No. 70), pp. 1118–1140.),
USA.
•
W Salazar, L. Brown., W Hernández, and J Guerra. “An Earthquake
Catalogue for El Salvador and Neighboring Central American
Countries (1528-2009) and Its Implication in the Seismic Hazard
Assessment”. Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, (2013)
Vol. 7, No. 8 (Serial No. 69), pp. 1018–1045, USA.
•
R. Koehler, P. Mann, C. Prentice, L. Brown, B. Benford, M.
Grandison-Wiggins: “Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone in
Jamaica: paleoseismology a 1 d seismic hazard”. Bulletin of the
Seismological Society of America (2013) Vol. 103, No. 2A 971–983.
Technical Report
•
L. Brown, Seismic Microzonation of Falmouth (July 2013): ODPEM
supported project.
TRAINING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Lyndon Brown
•
CTBTO: Surrogate Inspector Training Exercises
•
Surrogate Inspectors Health and Safety Training Exercise. November
2012:
•
Build Up-Exercise (Simulation) for CTBTO Exercise in Jordan
2014. May–June 2013.
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Ms. Karleen Black
•
CTBTO, One Month Analyst Training Course. April 2013.
Mr. Raymond Stewart
•
Attended the CTBTO two weeks Regional Training Course on
NDC Capacity Building in Vienna, Austria. Accessing and analysis
of waveform data and International Data Centre (IDC) products.
June 3 –4, 2013.
FUNDING EXTERNAL/CONSULTATIONS
Local Consultation: $J220,000
ODPEM: $US47,549.00
COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Earthquake Unit works in close collaboration with ODPEM and
the Jamaica Institution of Engineers in disseminating the findings of
research. The EQU also provides information/advice that is of national
significance to both institutions.
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